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She claimed: "Costa (in Barnard Castle) gave marshmallows with their Babyccinos up until last week but because we'd ordered a normal drink, we got one free for Dylan. With the free ones, they don't give out marshmallows.

"I got myself a hot chocolate and it came with marshmallows so I thought he can just have one of mine. I handed it to him and told him to make sure he'd chewed it.

"He started to nibble it and we looked away for two seconds and he had put the whole thing in his mouth and was unable to breathe."

"I just picked him up and whacked him on the back to get it out. It didn't seem to be working and after 30 seconds, Dylan started to go limp."

She added: "At first, his arms were flailing around because he obviously didn't want to be upside-down, but then he just went stiff.

Dylan is seen eating a McFlurry after being treated at hospital (Image: Mercury Press)

"Then he went floppy and lost consciousness. The doctor at the hospital later said it was the lack of oxygen that made that happen."

When efforts to dislodge the marshmallow failed, Carl rushed to get help from Costa employees and one of them called an ambulance.

"They were brilliant. A customer came over to help too," said Hanora.

"The poor staff must have been traumatised. They were all lovely and we took some flowers and a card on Wednesday to say thank you."

Although Dylan began to breathe again, the marshmallow remained lodged in his throat and he was taken to Darlington Memorial Hospital.

There, the toddler was looked after by doctors, who found the marshmallow had likely dissolved since he began choking on it, his mum said.

The alternative was that he had managed to swallow it.

In March 2014, Costa advertised the Babyccino as "frothed milk with a side of marshmallow or a Flake" (Image: Facebook)

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Hanora said: "We saw a nurse and two doctors at A&E who checked his back in case [anything was damaged] when hitting it and his mouth but the marshmallow must have dissolved."

She added: "We knew about chopping grapes in half before giving them to little ones - I even do that for adults now - but had no idea about the risk of marshmallows. A lot of other parents I've spoken to had no idea either."

The mum has now been left so terrified about feeding her son "wrong" that she has arranged for a health visitor to come to give her some advice.

In 2011, eight-month-old Benjamin O'Brien choked to death after being fed a marshmallow in St Albans, Hertfordshire, an inquest previously heard.